Heyyyyy there,
Coach Will here, and I'm writing to you from the road—Colorado to be exact. And I keep pinching myself.
After more than a year of clinging tightly to my home, and my routines, as a sanctuary from Covid but also an anchor for this wild year, me and my girlfriend hit the road.
We left Oakland 5 days ago and shot like an arrow across the rippling dead heat of Nevada and through the endless red canyons of Utah.
Going a bit slower over the Rockies, in deference to elevation that made our car (and us) pant a bit, it struck me that the same sense of safety and sovereignty I had clung to in Oakland was still firmly within my grasp.
It feels different than all the other road trips I've ever taken, more free, more spontaneous, more loose but also more satisfying.
Because rather than just a way of getting between points by car, this time the journey truly feels like the point of the trip.
What a gift.
See, in the past when I've travelled, the slow pace involved in actually getting to the destination had to be mitigated (I thought) by a constant bustle of activity.
Could I sneak in a workout before or after driving for the day?
Could I piece together a 'healthy' meal from truck stop snacks?
Could I—somehow—take in all the attractions and stay on schedule?
In each scenario, could I manage to 'work toward my goals' and be present for whatever magic the road had to offer?
No.
I couldn't, though I tried, and tried, and tried…
It was always a let-down because (I realize now) I was trying to live two lives at once.
One life was the achiever, the habit-keeper, the version of myself that seemed most virtuous.
And the other was the traveler, the observer, the version of myself who could be at peace with myself—my body, my abilities, my trajectory—to be changed by the world around me.
And as I reflect on this tendency of mine, I realize that this is yet another manifestation of the message that we Fitness Alchemists push so adamantly: it is worth the labor to get into friendship with yourself, starting with your body.
Because as you do (for it's an on-going process, continuously unfolding), you begin to realize that everything you need—to feel safe, grounded, and ready for adventure—is right here, built right into your incredible biology.
So wherever you, and whatever you're up to this summer, I'll invite you—again and again—to befriend your body.
In your corner,
Coach Will